Industrial apparatus and method



May 12, 1964 H. H. FLOYD ETAL 3,132,672

INDUSTRIAL APPARATUS AND METHOD Original Filed March 15, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HARMONSON H. FLOYD RAYMOND B. PATTERSON BY y1964 H. H. FLOYD ETAL 3, 72

INDUSTRIAL APPARATUS AND METHOD Original Filed March 15, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 2 6O be 27 2 O 25 IA T O /|Z o\ 0 n FIG.2

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INVENTOR. HARMONSON H. FLOYD 1f'AYNlOND B, PATTERSON United StatesPatent 1 Claim. ((11. 139-445) -'Ihis invention relates to looms forweaving soft floor coverings and more particularly to improvements inWilton and velvet pile fabric looms. The present invention contemplatesa modification of the picking mechanism on a Wilton or velvet loom whichweaves a one shot pile fabric. This terminology refers to the number ofshots or filling wefts inserted per pile wire. Two and three shot Wiltonand velvet fabrics have been produced for many years and this well-knownconstruction was considered necessary in order to produce a sufiicientlystiff backing for the fabric and also to provide adequate bind for thepile yarns. By laminating a separate backing material to the back of asingle shot fabric, we have found that we can produce a one shot fabricwithout any stuifer warps which is characterised by the desired tuftbind and stiff ground substantially equivalent to or better than thewell-known two and three shot woven fabrics.

In addition to the benefits noted above, several unexpected andunexplainable results were achieved. In a one shot fabric woven inaccordance with the present invention, the pile projections do not havethe characteristic lay in any particular direction, usually thedirection in which the wires are withdrawn. The pile yarns arestraighter and definitely give more coverage per pound. This may or maynot be attributed to the fact that when a pile fabric is woven without astufier, the pile yarns that work under filling wefts are not permittedto become further buried in the ground fabric. In the usual two or threeshot material where stuifer warps are used, there is a tendency for thepile yarns to extend farther into the backing fabric adjacent thestulfers than would be the case if the pile yarns were pulled tightlyaround the filling wefts under which they work. This theory is advancedas a possible explanation of the improved results but applicants do notwish to be bound thereby in the event subsequent knowledge indicatesthat this theory is inaccurate or incomplete. In any event, a pilefabric woven in accordance with the present invention has a better handand is not characterized by the well-known directional set or lay of thepile.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improvedapparatus for throwing the shuttle in a Wilton or velvet loom once forevery pile wire insertion.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a pile fabric loom animproved triggering device operating from the shade camshaft forreleasing the picking levers in the picking mechanism in the loom.

A further object is to provide an improved method for producing a oneshot pile fabric having improved hand.

A further object of the invention is to provide cam controlled pickingmechanism for throwing the shuttle in a pile fabric loom once for everyturn of the camshaft.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of our improved picking mechanism,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail of the righthand portion of the mechanismshown in FIGURE 1 in the position just after the picking lever has beenreleased to throw the shuttle,

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 with the 3,132,672 Patented May12., 1964 crank turned about to show the cocked, and

FIGURE 4 shows the picking crank rod moved from the position of FIGURE2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the picking mechanismon a conventional Wilton or velvet loom comprises a picking springcontained in a picking spring tube 10 mounted on the loom frame or girt11. In the present invention the picking spring is alternately loaded orcompressed through the agency of two crank rods 12 and 13 connected tocranks or crankshafts 14 and 15 respectively which are drivinglyassociated with the main crankshaft of the loom through the bottom backcamshaft (not shown). Crank rods 12 and 13 are pivotally mounted .to thepicking rocker arms 16 and 17 pivoted in brackets 18 and 19 at 20 and 21respectively. Rocker arms 16 and 17 intermittently contact the pickinglevers 25 and 26 each of which is in turn controlled by the pickingspring through associated links 27, 28 and picking spring rods 29, 30.Each of the picking levers 25 and 26 actuates picking sticks 35 and 36through connecting leather picking straps 37 and 38. As seen in FIGURE1, picking stick 35 is pivoted at 39 andis on the righthand side of theloom, whereas picking stick 36 is on the left side. As is well known,when the picking lever is released, the top of the picking stick 35 isin contact with the picker 45 which contacts the shuttle 46. Alternateactuation of the picking sticks 35 and 36 throws the shuttle 46 back andforth across the lay from the righthand picker 45 to the lefthand picker47. The mechanism described above is generally found on pile wire fabriclooms as distinguished from tufting and knitting machines that may ormay not be used to produce pile fabrics.

We have modified the picking mechanism described above so that theshuttle 46 is thrown to insert a filling weft for every pile wire. Theshade camshaft 50 is provided with an adjustable crank 51 which drives aconnecting rod 52 journaled at one end to a trigger rod 53 slidable inguides 54 and 55. The trigger rod 53 is provided with a pair ofadjustable triggers 56 and 57 which are mounted in collars 58 and 59.

Referring to FIGURES 2-4, the operation of the cocking and pickingmechanism will be more clearly described. FIGURE 2 shows the mechanismafter a pick is made and with the links 16 ready to load the pickingspring for the next shot by pivoting picking lever 25 clockwise toengage the lever pin 6th with the sear 61 on the knockoff lever 62. -Ascrankshaft 14 continues to rotate in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 3,the rocker arm 16 pivots the picking lever 25 until the pin 60 contactsthe face 65 of sear 61 thus pivoting the knock-off lever 62 on post 66.Continued movement of crank 14 permits the sear 61 to drop in back ofthe pin 6las seen in FIG- URE 4 thus loading the picking spring andholding the picking lever in the cockedposition. During this operationthe trigger rod 53 has been moved to the left as seen in FIGURE 3 tofire the lefthand picking lever and throw the shuttle from left toright.

Picking crankshaft 14 on the right side of the loom and pickingcrankshaft 15 on the left side of the loom are driven in suitable timedrelation to the movement of the lay and harness frames. These twopicking crankshafts are driven from the. bottom back camshaft of theloom and the ratio between the camshaft and picking shafts is 2:1. Inother words, the picking crankshafts 14 and 15 turn at half speed withrespect to the bottom back camshaft.

The rope motion for inserting the pile wires is well known in aconventional Wilton or velvet loom and the driving mechanism for therope motion is timed with picking lever beingv the bottom back camshaftmentioned above and consequently both picking crankshafts. The timingcycle, as previously noted, of the picking crankshafts with re gard tothe rope motion for inserting the wires is 1:1. Referring again toFIGURE 4, when the trigger pivots the picking knock-off lever to releasethe pin 60 from sear 61, the picking crankshaft is turned 180 from theposition shown so that the picking rocker arm is pivoted to a retractedposition and does not interfere with the firing or snapping of thepicking lever. FIGURE 2 shows the position of the picking lever and therocker arm just after firing and with the flat face of the picking leveragainst the bumper 70. The lefthand picking motion actuated by pickingcrankshaft 14 is identical to that just described in conjunction withthe righthand picking motion, and it will be understood thatreciprocation of the trigger rod 53 selectively loads and fires thepicking levers from side to side on the loom for every insertion of apile wire. With the lefthand picking lever 26 cocked and retained by thesear 61' on the lefthand knock-off lever 62, rocker arm 17 pivotsclockwise under control of crank 15 until trigger rod 53 oscillates tothe left and fires the picking lever 26 when trigger 57 displaceslefthand knock-ofl? lever 62'.

The conversion of conventional weaving equipment to single shotoperation can be accomplished with a minimum of expense and downtime ofthe loom both on broad and narrow equipment. The operation, if desired,can be made continuous to provide the application of the laminatedbacking as the fabric leaves the loom which permits a further saving incost and space.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 95,970, filedMarch 16, 1961.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

In a picking motion for a pile fabric loom the improvement whichcomprises a picking crankshaft at each side of the loom, a pickingspring mounted on a front girt of the loom, a picking lever pivotallymounted on the front girt at each end of the picking spring, aconnection between each of the picking levers and the picking spring,

a picking rocker arm pivotally mounted to the loom girt at each endthereof, a crank rod connecting each picking crankshaft to itsassociated picking rocker arm, a knockoff lever pivotally mounted on thegirt in close spaced relation to each of the picking levers, a scar oneach of the knock-01f levers positioned to engage a pin on each of thepicking levers whereby the picking levers are alternately cocked andreleased in accordance with the movement of picking cranks, journalmeans mounted on top of the front girt, a trigger rod slidably mountedinsaid journal, a pair of adjustable triggers mounted on said triggerrod facing in opposite directions and positioned to alternately pivoteach of the knock-ofi levers to suddenly unload the picking spring andpivot the picking levers and the picking sticks and throw a shuttleacross the loom, a connecting rod for the trigger rod, a shade cam shafton the loom and an adjustable crank on the shade cam shaft for actuatingthe connecting rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS695,622 Naven Mar. 18, 1902 1,428,572 Wilson Sept. 12, 1922 1,704,860Lassey Mar. 12, 1929 2,582,761 Shertz et al. Jan. 15, 1952 2,615,474Iboney Oct. 28, 1952

